DE 197 34 747 A describes a corn harvesting implement for attachment to a self-propelled harvesting machine that mows plants standing on a field independent of rows and plucks the ears of corn from the plants. For grasping and mowing of the plants independent of rows, the implement is equipped with a mower head with a rotating drum provided on its outer circumference with recesses and a knife rotating below it, as is known practice from corn heads. The plants are conducted to conventional plucking assemblies attached downstream of the mower head. Clean-up disks or points of the plucking rolls penetrating into the operating area of the mower head are provided, in order to remove the plants that are to be processed from the mower head and to conduct them to the plucking assembly. The ears of corn that have been removed from the plants are transported away by two chain conveyors arranged above the plucking slot. The disadvantage here is seen in the fact that the transition of overripe and soft stalks into the plucking assembly may prove to be problematic.